SERIOUSLY, WHO NEEDS BACKGROUND CHECKS ANYWAY?
The answer to this question is EVERY BUSINESS! Businesses routinely spend thousands, sometimes millions of dollars developing, marketing and growing their brand. However, all those resources could be wasted on one bad hire. There are countless examples of one bad apple tarnishing and in some cases obliterating an entire corporate reputation. In some cases this reputation takes several years and money to build. Why risk your reputation? Why spend all the time and money building your corporate image only to hire someone who can tear it all down? Does ordering a background check automatically preclude you from having an employee ruin your corporate image? No, unfortunately it does not. However, ordering the proper background check will significantly lessen the chances. Let’s take a minute to look at some of the more popular searches provided by Background Check companies and start to shed some light on why all background checks are not created equal
Nationwide/Multijurisdictional Search
Over the years there has been one resounding response from employers when asked if they screen their employees. That response is, (in their proudest tone with chest out and shoulders back) “Yes of course we do. We run a National search on all of our potential hires!!” This product is very misleading. Many times the end user believes they are getting a product that will unveil any wrong doing by the potential hire in any jurisdiction, in any state in the country. This could not be further from the truth. Let me explain. The nationwide search is a static database; this is a database that does not have real time data. How does this affect you? Well if your potential hire was arrested last month for a crime in a state that only reports to the nationwide database once a year, you would be receiving a misleading report and in turn hiring someone you wouldn’t otherwise hire. See, the Multijurisdictional/Nationwide product has many flaws. Here is a snapshot of some of the flaws.
#1 Not all States report to the Database
#2 Not all Counties report to their respective state repositories, In turn the report that that state provides the Nationwide database is incomplete
#3 There is no consistency from the states as to when they share their data with the Nationwide database.
So, to summarize this product should not be relied on solely to make hiring decisions. I like to think of this product as a “Spring Break Search”. It is a good tool to locate crimes or infractions by a potential hire in a State they have never lived in. We recommend strongly running a Nationwide Search on all potential hires but only as a subordinate to a more detailed search like a County Criminal or a Statewide Search.
Statewide Search
Another common and sometimes comprehensive background check is a Statewide Search. I say sometimes comprehensive because it has a lot of the same issues that the Nationwide Database has. Although this is a dynamic information source that is typically updated in real time it is not 100% reliable. Again, to the end user a Statewide Search implies that a crime committed in any county in any state would be included in this search. Sadly, this is not the case in all states. In many states not all counties report to the statewide repository. Again, this can lead to employers making uninformed hiring decisions. Conversely, in some States like NC, all 100 counties report to the Statewide Repository. In this case, we would recommend a Statewide Search along with a Nationwide Database search. For those states that have counties that do not report to the repository we strongly recommend a County Criminal Search.
Countywide Search
Since all crimes other than federal crimes are tried on a county level, a County Criminal search is typically the most reliable search you can run. Within the County Criminal search there are two typical searches. One is a Current County of Residence. This search will only provide crimes that took place in the applicant’s current county of residence. The other product is the 7 year County Criminal search which will provide any crimes committed in any county the applicant has resided in in the prior 7 years. In both cases FCRA guidelines dictate that criminal records with convictions can be released on a background check indefinitely and criminal records with non-convictions can be released on a background check for a period of 7 years. (There are some States regulations that supersede the FCRA guidelines; your dedicated Screening Consultant can help you navigate these guidelines.)
As you can see navigating the Background Screening world is not black and white. It is of extreme importance to locate and hire a company like Rapid Results Background Check Solutions to help you navigate the often confusing background screening process and avoid potential pitfalls. Hiring the right company and ordering the appropriate background check will; ensure you have done all you can to protect your corporate image, save you time and money in having to rehire and retrain applicants, lead to a safer work environment for your employees, and can protect you against potential lawsuits. Don’t be a pennywise and a pound foolish. Hire with Confidence! Hire Rapid Results Background Check Solutions! Call today for a free consultation. 800-472-5202.